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The Brighton House by Caisson Architecture is a new building, that gently nestles into the heritage character of the streetscape. Architect Craig Barkla explains that the clients were previously living in an inter-war bungalow on the same street, and wished to retain the style of the historically significant homes of the area. He describes ‘our design sought to respond to this sensitive context via its use of materials, roof form and incorporation of elements such as porches, arcades and chimneys.’
The design of the home also responds to the constrains of the site. Craig describes how the sloping site provided design challenges, but also informed clever creative outcomes. ‘We turned these challenges to our advantage, and used the topography to support a basement garage, a terraced garden to enhance the development of garden zones, and the steeply pitched roof to conceal the upper level areas and reduce the bulk of the house.’
The external corridor of arches creates multiple links between the indoor and outdoor zones, and plays with scale and form. Craig highlights ‘the most rewarding part of this project was seeing how a large house could be nestled into a site.’ The design connects to the garden setting, and ‘communicates softly with its street context’ by muting the bulk of the home with clever angles, and retaining the mature tree in the front yard.
Inside, the main pavilion is expansive and generous – but planned to provide clear zones for working and retreat. Meanwhile, high ceilings, expansive spaces and connection to outdoors make this a perfect home for entertaining!
